Thu, 3 Sep 2026 Uncategorized

How to Choose the Right Office Chair for Your Team

Meta description: Buying office chairs for your team? Here’s what to check (adjustability, lumbar support, mesh vs upholstery and build quality) before you place an order.

Most people in your office spend the better part of their working day sitting down. A poorly chosen chair shows up quickly as sore backs, stiff necks and staff who can’t stop shifting in their seats. A good chair mostly goes unnoticed, which is exactly the point. Here’s what to check before your next order.

It should adjust to the person, not the other way round

No two people on your team are built the same, so a good chair needs to adapt to each of them. At a minimum, the seat height should adjust so feet rest flat on the floor with knees roughly level with the hips. The armrests should also move up and down so shoulders stay relaxed while typing. Seat depth adjustment is a bonus that both taller and shorter staff will appreciate. Ideally, you should be able to fit two or three fingers between the front edge of the seat and the back of your knees.

The Merryfair Ronin adjusts almost everywhere. You can change the seat’s height and depth and the armrests’ height and width, and the lumbar pad moves up, down, in and out.

Don’t overlook the lower back

Your lower back takes a lot of the strain during long hours at a desk, so proper lumbar support matters. Every spine curves a little differently, so adjustable support is better than a fixed pad. On the Merryfair Tune, you can adjust the lumbar pad with side knobs without getting up. The Zenit’s lumbar support is designed to stay in contact with your back as you move.

Mesh or upholstery?

In Sri Lanka’s warm, humid weather, a mesh backrest suits anyone who sits for long hours because it lets air circulate instead of trapping heat against your back. Upholstered and leather chairs still suit executive offices, boardrooms and reception areas, where a more formal look matters. The Merryfair Delphi, available in a premium leather version, and the President, with its wooden armrests and base, are made for exactly those spaces.

Match the chair to the space

Different areas of the office call for different chairs:

• Open-plan workstations and shared desks: A weight-sensing mechanism is especially useful here. The Merryfair Zenit adjusts its recline tension to the weight of whoever is sitting in it, so nobody has to reset it each time.
• Training rooms: Chairs with a built-in writing tablet, such as the Rover, work well.
• Cafeterias and event areas: Light, stackable options like the Muze, which weighs just 3.5kg, are the better fit.

Look past the price tag

Two chairs can look almost identical in a brochure and feel completely different after a year of daily use. Before you choose, check:

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• what the base and mechanism are made of (diecast aluminium or fibre-reinforced nylon rather than basic plastic)
• the quality of the castors
• the warranty and after-sales support that come with the chair

Paying a little more upfront often works out cheaper than replacing chairs every couple of years.

Let your team try before you buy

Before placing a bulk order, ask a few of the people who will actually use the chairs to sit in your shortlisted models. A chair that works for both a 5’2″ accountant and a 6’1″ engineer is worth far more than one that only looks good in a photo.

Find the right seating with Nimo & Co

Nimo & Co has supplied office seating to Sri Lankan organisations since 1984, with ranges from Merryfair and Godrej Interio. Popular Merryfair models such as the Ronin, Zenit, Tune and Delphi are held in regular stock. Others, including the Rover and Muze, can be brought in as special imports. Browse our seating range, or call +94 11 255 9108 or email sales@nimo.lk, and our team will help you find the right chairs for your workplace.